ROCHESTER, Minn. – The Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine is a co-sponsor of the 2016 World Stem Cell Summit. More than 1,200 attendees are expected at the 12th annual event in West Palm Beach, Florida. A delegation of administrators, researchers and clinical experts from Mayo Clinic will participate in featured presentations and panel discussions highlighting advances in discovery science, promising clinical trials and available therapies. Diverse topics to be covered include cardiovascular regeneration, restoring eyesight, and growing stem cells in a microgravity environment in space. Mayo Clinic experts also will be involved in panel discussions regarding education, consumer information and stem cell clinics.

Tuesday is Public Day, where panel discussions and presentations address current topics from a consumer perspective. Shane Shapiro, M.D., orthopedic surgeon, will discuss the different sources and types of stem cells, such as those from bone marrow and fat. Dr. Shapiro’s presentation will include guidance on how consumers should proceed with available regenerative medicine treatments and the differences between same-day widely available clinics and less available lab-based treatments.

Also on Public Day, Karen Krucker, stem cell therapy program manager at Mayo Clinic, will give a talk about what patients and their families need to know before getting stem cell or regenerative medicine treatment. Krucker has worked at the Consult Resource Center for Regenerative Medicine at Mayo Clinic, the first consult service established in the U.S. to provide guidance for patients and families regarding stem cell-based protocols.

Thomas Gonwa, M.D. is leading the Mayo delegation and will provide comments during the opening plenary session on Tuesday, Dec. 6. Dr. Gonwa is deputy director, Translation, in the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine. He oversees translational regenerative medicine infrastructure across Mayo Clinic, ensuring technological and translational readiness necessary to sustain scientific excellence, practice advancement and fulfillment of institutional and site-specific goals. Dr. Gonwa also will participate in a panel discussion on “Best Practices for Effective Collaboration.”

Atta Behfar, M.D., Ph.D.
Behfar directs the Van Cleve Cardiac Regenerative Medicine Program in the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Behfar and colleagues are working on cardiovascular regeneration research to develop novel therapies to prevent and cure life-threatening heart conditions. Dr. Behfar’s research focuses on the development and use of stem cells and protein-based therapies to reverse injury caused by lack of blood flow to the heart. Dr. Behfar will participate in this panel discussion: “Advances in Cardiovascular Research and Promising Clinical Trials.”

Richard Hayden, M.D.
Hayden is head and neck surgeon and a member of the executive leadership team for the Center for Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Hayden will participate in two panel discussions: “Regenerative Medicine Novel Education Pathways” and “The Proliferation of Stem Cell Clinics – Impact on Consumers, Clinicians and Society.”

Yasuhiro Ikeda, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Ikeda, molecular medicine, and his colleagues are developing novel gene and cell therapy technologies for diabetes, hypertension and hypertensive heart disease. This technology could lead to novel gene and stem cell therapy for patients with these diseases, whose therapeutic options are limited. Dr. Ikeda will participate in this panel discussion: “Diabetes Progress Report.”

Alan Marmorstein, Ph.D.
Marmorstein is an ophthalmologist who studies how mutations in certain genes cause inherited forms of macular degeneration, how pressure is regulated within the eye and how some organisms regenerate their eyes in response to injury. He studies and tests new therapies for diseases that include macular degeneration and glaucoma. Dr. Marmorstein will participate in this panel discussion: “Restoring Vision.”

Timothy Nelson, M.D., Ph.D.
Nelson, director of the Todd and Karen Wanek Family Program for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, oversees the Regenerative Medicine Consult Service at Mayo Clinic, which provides educational information and referrals to patients who want to learn about regenerative medicine opportunities at Mayo Clinic and elsewhere. Dr. Nelson’s research focuses on cardiovascular regeneration using bioengineered stem cells. His work seeks to improve scientists' ability to discover, diagnose and, ultimately, treat mechanisms of degenerative diseases, such as cardiomyopathy that weakens the heart muscle and lead to progressive heart failure. Mayo Clinic physicians and researchers are working to launch clinical trials that bring the latest advances in cell therapy to people with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The panel discussion that Dr. Nelson will participate in is to be announced.

Ian Parney, M.D., Ph.D.
Parney is neurosurgeon, specializing in glioblastomas ― the most common primary brain tumors. His research group focuses on improving brain tumor surgery, studying the associated immune suppression response with glioblastomas, and brain tumor vaccines. Dr. Parney will participate in this panel discussion: “Overcoming Translational Hurdles.”

Zachary Resch, Ph.D.
Resch is a program manager for the Center for Regenerative Medicine Biotrust at Mayo Clinic. The biotrust specializes in collecting, processing and storing patient-specific induced pluripotent and mesenchymal stem cell lines for use in regenerative medicine-related activities, including diagnostics, therapeutics and modeling. Dr. Resch will participate in this panel discussion: “Manufacturing, Processing and Banking.”

Saranye Wyles
Wyles is an M.D., Ph.D., candidate, clinical and translational science track, at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. She will participate in this panel discussion: “Regenerative Medicine Novel Education Pathways.”

Abba Zubair, M.D., Ph.D.
Zubair is a consultant in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and medical director, Transfusion Medicine and Stem Cell Therapy, on Mayo Clinic’s campus in Jacksonville, Florida. Dr. Zubair’s research focuses on the use of stem cells for regenerative medicine applications. He recently received an award from NASA (Center for the Advancement of Science in Space) that will allow him to use the microgravity environment to grow stem cells that are of sufficient quality and quantity to use in the treatment of patients with stroke. Dr. Zubair will participate in this panel discussion: “Stem Cell Research on the International Space Station.“